Kristin Smart murder trial: woman accused defendant Paul Flores of sexual assault
Note: This story contains details of sexual assault and may be troubling to some readers.
SALINAS -- The Kristin Smart murder trial continued in Monterey County this week, with two days of testimony from witnesses from Paul Flores' life after Cal Poly. Flores is charged alongside his father, Ruben, in connection to the disappearance of Smart in 1996 during her freshman year.
The Stockton teenager's family has been present in the courtroom since the early days of the trial. Her parents and siblings all testified as witnesses, sharing more with jurors about Smart's life before and during her time at Cal Poly.
Now, the two juries, have learned more about Flores' during his life after Cal Poly as outlined by a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2008 and his former girlfriend. Both took first questions from San Luis Obispo Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle, who is the lead prosecutor for the trial.
Doe recounted a night out in Redondo Beach in 2008 with friends at a bar they frequented often, the Thirsty Club, when she met the man she identified in court as Paul Flores.
"Why don't you come with me and we can go to your place together," Doe said Flores told her but did not invite any of the other friends who were present.
Peuvrelle asked Doe how much she had to drink, she replied: "I had a few drinks I wasn't intoxicated." Doe recalled walking from the bar to Flores' place and even having a conversation – overall feeling "very alert."
This line of questioning, likely, part of the prosecution's argument that Flores routinely drugged women throughout his life, including Smart the night she disappeared.
Doe recounted Flores' home, the steep driveway, and the time it took him to go to the kitchen to get her a glass of water. She does not remember where she was in proximity to him getting the water, and does not remember seeing him fix it for her. Although she didn't recall much of the home, she said it was a "bachelor pad looking place." She said she remembered going into the bedroom and seeing it, but after that, her memory is foggy and lost.
She told the court she doesn't remember anything until she regained consciousness and Flores was on top of her on his bed. She said they were engaged in sex she did not give consent to and she came in and out of consciousness multiple times during the assault.
Doe said Flores engaged in vaginal and anal sex during the assault and at no time did she ever give consent.
"I would have never consented to that ever, I have a medical condition as well... I would have never consented to that." said Doe.
Doe did not report the assault because she believed that sexual assault cases rarely go to trial and at the time, she felt like there wasn't a point of reporting. That is, until Flores' photo was brought into the public sphere in connection to Smart's disappearance in 2021.
"There is something in his eyes that is ingrained that leads me to certainty... something I did not forget." said Doe.
Doe saw the photo in the media, after Flores' arrest that would eventually lead to the very trial Doe took the witness stand in, and she knew it was the same person that assaulted her over a decade before.
Thursday brings more expert witness testimony, Flores' ex-girlfriend
Near the end of the week, testimony shifted to back to a human remains detection dog handler, one of a few who have already taken the stand in the trial.
Gail LaRoque, certified dog handler for trained boxer, Torrey, was first to the stand on Thursday. LaRoque was certified under CARDA, a rescue dog association in 1993 for wilderness; and in 1994/1995 for cadaver, search and rescue. In 2005, LaRoque retired.
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Peuvrelle spent the bulk of his line of questioning proving to the court and jurors LaRoque was an expert witness in the subject. These kinds of experts are critical to the prosecution's argument that Flores was responsible for Smart's death because her body has not been found. The evidence that Peuvrelle argued tied Flores to Smart's death lies in evidence and testimony found by these dogs, who positively identified the smell of human remains in Flores' Cal Poly dorm through multiple searches.
After the expert testimony, jurors heard from Flores' ex-girlfriend, Angie Carrizel who dated Flores for two years in the early 2000s.
"It was a long time ago," she told the court.
Carrizel met Flores' parents, Susan Flores and Ruben, who is currently on trial alongside his son, at their home in Arroyo Grande along the Central Coast of California. The couple went to both of their homes and at Ruben's home, Carrizel said, she remembered being redirected to the house and away from avocado trees in the backyard.
"They did not want me there." said Carrizel.
She explained she wanted to pick an avocado, but was not allowed to, and stayed a "couple yards away" from the trees.
Peuvrelle: "Did it appear to you their demeanor changed?"
Carrizel: "Yes."
The trial will resume Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. with Carrizel back on the stand for cross-examination.
Elizabeth Wilson is a CBS contributor to this post and is a general assignment reporter for the Mustang Daily News.
